Michael C. Fina / Bait and switch scheme scamming newly-weds

I went to register at Michael C. Fina and Company located on 5th Avenue in New York city. They also have a web page on theknot.com. At the time of registering for my gifts, they convinced me to do the 'consolidated registry' in which my gifts are 'held' for me and upon my approval, they'll send all the gifts to me at once.

It turned out the china pattern I registered for was discontinued, but they continued to sell the china for 5 MONTHS after it got discontinued. On top of it, they did not have the china in stock. So essentially, they were selling non-existent goods, and showing them as 'available' on my registry list. Not knowing their scam, our friends and family bought us the entire set we registered for. When it comes time for delivery, Michael C. Fina could only scrape up 5 dinner plates.

We told them that if they can't deliver, they ought to refund us-- after all, they are not suppose to sell stuff they don't have and they can't get. They refused. Citing store policy, they would only give us store credit.

What a bait and switch scheme! They lured everyone in with the non-existent merchandise, knowing that it's discontinued and they don't stock, telling everyone that they're 'holding' the gifts for us, and then now they want us to buy something else in their store?!!

What a fraud! I complained to Michael C Fina several times, but they insist on only giving us a refund (and hence keep the profit they made from defrauding us). Please spread the word and don't let them defraud other newly weds.

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Comments

My daughter is having the exact experience with Michael Fina. So we plan to ask friends who "bought" the china and were charged for it to call for refunds so they can purchase it elsewhere. We have four e-mail into Michael Fina; no response. Several phone calls have not resulted in satisfaction at all. Awful experience at a stressful time.

I had the same problem. This is the worst! Terrible customer service. They can't keep my contact information straight and it has taken me 3 calls over several months, yet every time they purportedly change it, the update does not "stick" and I can't login. Also the sales people do not know their products. They can't even pronounce or recognize names of the most common brands and patterns - completely ignorant of the products being sold. Also the salespeople are not aware of what emails are being sent to registered brides, so they are unable to answer questions. Worse, they are rude and put it back on the customer to do the legwork and figure everything out.

My partner and I registered with C. Fina and have had nothing be enjoyable and educational experiences.. When situations are stressful (as in most weddings) you forget to overlook human error. We received the merchandise that was gifted to us in a very timely manner...

Also, we looked around and the competition does not have half of their selection!

I have had the same problem with Michael C Fina and many more. We were able to order our discontinued china and were told it would arrive sometime in the next year. I was OK with that as I had no immediate need for it. What really upset me was we were told that we still had a store credit so we continued to place orders against the credit. When the merchandise finally came in we received a call letting us know we owed several thousand dollars. They had made a bookkeeping error on their end to the tune of 2 grand. I was so aggravated I wanted to just return everything but since the china was discontinued my husband convinced me we should just keep it and pay the difference. We tried calling several times but no one ever calls us back. I finally had to go into the store, again, and deal with it in person. I would say registering at Michael C Fina is the worst mistake I have ever made. The customer service is non-existent, the staff is rude and ignorant when it comes to the product, and it was a flat out nightmare.

We had no problems when we registered with Michael C. Fina! Everyone was extremely helpful when they helped us choose the right designs. When it came time for our family and friends to purchase gifts, they too experienced no problems. Everyone we dealt with was nice and we never felt like we had to be on top of them to find out the status of our items. We got everything quickly after the wedding and we couldn't be happier!

Michael C Fina has the WORST customer service. My fiance and I went in to shop for wedding bands and in the process they offered to resize my engagement ring which was a little loose. Long story short, we realized a few days after the diamond was loose and could have fallen out. When calling them they said the jeweler is out for a week and there was nothing they can do but will email the Stuart Segall the sales associate who assisted us and their manager. Shocker it's been several days and we have still received no courtesy call or email from the store. Very very very poor customer service and it's unacceptable to have provided such poor craftsmanship from a "reputable" store like themselves. Clearly we will be purchasing our wedding bands elsewhere.